The art project -- in which internationally known artists Christo and his late wife, Jeanne-Claude, proposed to suspend 5.9 miles of fabric along a 42-mile stretch of the Arkansas River in the Colorado mountains for two weeks -- was born way back in 1992. It has since involved countless public hearings, government studies, reams of documents and legal challenges at the state and federal level, not to mention newspaper editorials and reports, field trials, and at least two educational exhibitions in museums.

It could be the most well-known single-art project in Colorado, and it might never exist.

But that's the wrong way to think about it. The more than 20 years of preparatory work and discussion about "Over The River" constitutes part of the work, according to Christo.

"I always feel that all these projects are a journey," Christo said Thursday during a phone interview from his New York office. He added that his and his late wife's projects, which often involved massive-scale fabric installations, have two distinct periods -- the effort to realize the work and its realization. But the effort is as much a part of the work as the realization.

Christo used pencil, pastel, charcoal and wax crayon to create his vision of "Over The River." (Wolfgang Volz/Courtesy photo)

"That's one of the principle reasons we don't do commissions," Christo said. "Commissions typically are straightforward as far as preparation is concerned. Where's the fun in that? You're probably going to miss out on all those people discussing the proposed work at public hearings, where the attendees in effect become creative participants.

"They're part of the work of art, willingly or unwillingly."

Everyone who's sitting in the Glenn Miller Ballroom at the University of Colorado at 6 p.m. Thursday, therefore, will become part of "Over The River."

Christo plans to discuss the project during a presentation that evening. The program also includes a discussion of another work he's planning, "The Mastaba," in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates. "The Mastaba" would be a pyramid-like structure with a footprint the size of The Vatican's, and it would be the largest sculpture in the world.

Christo's presentation Thursday will include 80 color slides related to the projects, and he will answer questions -- unless they're about politics, religion or other artists, he said.

"Over the River" has overcome almost all legal challenges. Just one major one remains -- a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Bureau of Land Management's approval of the project.

Assuming the project is ultimately approved, it will take 28 months to realize, and weather and other circumstances mean the only feasible month to open its two-week life is in August. So, based on the status of the federal case, the earliest Christo expects "Over The River" to come to life is August 2017.

Christo's presentation at CU is supported by the ATLAS Institute's Speaker Series, the Department of Art & Art History Visiting Artist Program, the Center of the American West and the CU Art Museum.